Selected Duets for Flute, Page 50 Number 4, Air, performed by David Summer.

This "Air", by GF Handel is a good duet to use when studying the "eighth-quarter-eighth" rhythm pattern. When the student can confidently alternate between this pattern and four eight notes, they likely have a good grasp of this syncopation.

Both sections of the duet start with staccato markings. The editor really should have added some marking to indicate that the staccato articulation should continue, as I've assumed in this performance.

The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 100.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 49 Number 3, Duett, performed by David Summer.

"Duett" is German for "Duet" reflecting the fact that the composer of this duet, Johann Adolph Hasse, was a German composer, singer and music teacher. Although primarily known for his operatic works, Hasse wrote many flute pieces for Frederick the Great (Frederick II of Prussia), himself an enthusiastic flutist who composed sonatas for flute as well.

The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 80.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 48 Number 2, Allemande, performed by David Summer.

An Allemande is usually part of a musical suite. A suite is a group of dances, particularly popular in the baroque period. The Allemande is usually the first or second movement of a suite.

Henry Purcell, the composer of this duet, was an English Baroque composer. He composed music for a wide range of ensembles and, like many of his contemporaries, was a church organist and music director, most notably for London's Westminster Abbey.

Some of Purcell's pieces have become standard repertoire for trumpet players and brass ensembles. These include "Te Deum and Jubilate" written for Saint Cecilia's Day and a piece simply entitled "Trumpet Tune" that is popular as a wedding recessional. Purcell's "Music for Queen Mary" is also a staple for brass ensembles and has had the (perhaps dubious) honor of being part of the soundtrack to the film "A Clockwork Orange". Benjamin Britten based his "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" on a theme of Purcell's entitled Abdelazar. For some time it was thought that the famous "Trumpet Voluntary", often used as a wedding processional, was also written by Henry Purcell. It was only relatively recently that it was discovered that "Trumpet Voluntary" was instead written by English composer Jeremiah Clarke, who entitled it the Prince of Denmark's March.

The tempo and time signature in this duet seem at odds with each other. The time signature is cut-time, but the tempo is indicated as being a moderate 4. This may have to do with the history of the Allemande, which includes shifts in tempo over the course of time. In any case, since there is an ambiguity here, I choose to play the piece in a moderate 4/4 time, ignoring the cut-time time signature.

No repeats are taken in this performance and the metronome setting is quarter note = 80.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 47 Number 1, Allegro, performed by David Summer.

This pretty duet is by the baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann. Telemann was an extremely prolific composer who wrote many excellent works for the flute, including a beautiful series of duets and a number of flute sonatas.

The Guinness Book of World Records credits Telemann as being the most prolific composer of all time. Largely self-taught, Telemann was a highly regarded composer during his lifetime, even more so than his contemporary, JS Bach.

Telemann's "Flute Sonata in F major" is a favorite of mine. It's a bright, happy sounding piece that I often use in performance. I sometimes use selections from Telemann's "Suite in a minor" in performance as well.

Only the first repeat is taken in this performance and the metronome setting is quarter note = 92.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 42 Number 2, Tempo di Marcia, performed by David Summer.

The tempo marking "Tempo di Marcia" translates to "March Tempo". This is a stately duet; full of staccato dotted eighth-sixteenth rhythms. Even without the staccato markings, these dotted eighth-sixteenth rhythms, in a march like this, are usually interpreted with a good-sized silent space after the dotted eighth note.

At times, the flute 2 part takes the melody. This duet would be appropriate for a two flute processional performance. Perhaps at a wedding or graduation, for example where 2 flutes are playing alone.

The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 96.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 43 Number 1, Andante grazioso, performed by David Summer.

The tempo marking "Andante grazioso" translates to "at a walking pace but gracefully". I interpret this to mean, "with a flowing style. Smooth, but keep it moving". Also, notice the "dolce" expression marking, again meaning "sweetly".

This duet begins in the key of a minor, then goes to A major and back to a minor on the Da Capo. We've seen this parallel minor key relationship in previous duets, and it's used quite often in baroque, classical and romantic music. The same key relationship is also used in some popular music. It's used in popular show tunes such as "I Love Paris" and "My Heart Belongs to Daddy".

The composer of this duet, Benoit Tranquil Berbiguier, studied at the Paris conservatory in the early 1800s. He's probably best known now to flutists for his "Eighteen Exercises or Etudes". The complete version of the duets excerpted here are available in Berbiguier's "Six Duets, Op. 59".

The metronome setting for this performance is dotted quarter note = 56.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 38 Number 4, movement 1 Allo Moderato, performed by David Summer.

This is a pretty piece, in 3/4 time. Several times the word "dolce" is used as an expression marking. Dolce translates to the English word "sweet" and generally indicates a gentle, smooth, singing style.

The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 108.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 36 Number 3, performed by David Summer.

This longer duet continues the duets of Kaspar Kummer. Besides being a composer, Kummer was an excellent flutist and teacher. Among his pupils was composer Friedrich Kiel.

Kiel composed mostly chamber music, including several piano quartets. He also passed on his knowledge of composition to several students including the Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford and English composer Frederic Hymen Cowen.

The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 108.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 35 Number 2, performed by David Summer.

This is the second of the two Kummer duets from his Opus 20. The tempo marking is poco adagio, which translates to "a little slow". In relative terms it's not quite as slow as an adagio marking would be.

This duet offers the teacher a good opportunity to introduce the gruppetto. The gruppetto (translation "little group") is an ornamentation that adds a certain gracefulness to the music. It's indicated in the printed music by what looks like a sideways 'S'.

A gruppetto is played by starting on the printed note, moving up one note, then back to the printed note, then down one note and finally back to the printed note again. An example of the interpretation is at the bottom of the duet on page 35.

The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 76.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 34 Number 1, performed by David Summer.

This section of the Selected Duets book contains four duets by Kummer. Kaspar Kummer (1795-1870) wrote many pieces for woodwinds, including several chamber pieces for flute. This piece is a very pretty and understated duet.

The tempo marking "Andante con moto" translates to "at a walking pace with motion". I interpret that to mean "not too fast, but keep moving". This duet presents a good opportunity for the teacher to talk about legato playing, since much of the duet is in a legato style.

The repeat is omitted, and the metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 88.